Sell my car - Car Selling Tips

Common Sense:
Selling your used car can be a very time consuming process, but the fact is, that you can get thousands of dollars more by selling your car yourself compared to trading it to a car dealership. The difference can be huge, sometimes we have seen as much as $10,000 for a $30,000 car. Then why would you trade in your car and make huge profits for a car dealer on your very own car? You better sell your car yourself! My advice is the following: “ If you think, that you car is worth at least $2,000, then sell your car yourself”.

As a seller, you will have to answer to the following four questions:

1. Where should I advertise my car for sale?
2. How fast can I sell my car?
3. How much is my car worth?
4. How can I improve the selling price of my car?

Where should I advertise my car for sale?

“Sell my car using newspaper ads?” Ten years ago, the answer would be-newspapers only! Nowadays, people have the comfort of browsing cars without leaving their homes using their computers and the internet. Newspapers have lost their affection as a form of advertisement. You can have a tough time selling your car using newspaper ads only.

Advertising and selling your car online is the best option and it will definitely work if you do it right. There are 3 major sites where you can advertise your car and achieve results, those are eBay Motors, AutoTrader and Cars.com. eBay Motors is rated as the #1 visited automotive site in the universe.

eBay Motors has a very different concept compared to Autotrader and Cars.com. The main difference is that eBay Motors works as an online auction, whereas people place bids and enter into legally binding contract to buy your car at the bid price, which must be equal or higher from your Reserve Price. The beauty of the eBay bidding system is that you may sell your car for more than you ask for it. Other advantages of selling your car on eBay Motors are: 1. Timing (Faster Sale) – on eBay you have the choice of selling your car in 3, 5, 7 or 10 day auctions (we recommend 3 or 5 days), which means faster sale. 2. No test drives – no more strangers testing your car. If you advertise your car with AutoTrader and Cars.com, you will get many phone calls from people who want to “just test drive” the car and then try to negotiate a deal. For most of us, our time is limited and we cannot accommodate every request for a test drive. More than 90% of eBay buyers never actually see the car in person prior to buying it. 3. No price negotiations – The buyer of your car from eBay knows exactly how much he has to pay and there are no price negotiations in contrary to AutoTrader and Cars.com. To finalize, eBay Motors is the most optimal choice, when it comes to selling your car fast and for more dollars. Our answer is definitely eBay Motors!

How fast can I sell my car?

The speed of selling your car depends on two major factors. The first factor is Exposure! eBay Motors has the highest traffic compared to other automotive sites. The second factor is the Price! You have to be realistic about your car’s fair market value. If your asking price is well above the fair market value, then the chances of selling your car are close to zero. How to find out the fair market value? We will discuss that shortly. Let’s just assume that you have decided to advertise your vehicle on eBay and you have set a fair price for your car. How fast can you expect to sell your car? As mentioned above, you can choose 3, 5, 7 or 10 day auction. We recommend selling your car in 3 or 5 day auctions, instead of 7 or 10.

How much is my car worth?

Every used car is unique and the prices will vary for the same model, make and the year. MrCarLister.com can appraise your car based on the recent listings on eBay. You can also try Kelley Blue Book and the Edmunds.com. Both of those sources are very reliable and will give you an approximate value for your car. But to answer to the question “How much is my car worth?”, you will have to let the market to decide. The timing is very important too. For example, convertibles sell for a better price in Spring and Summer, than in Fall or Winter. We will also discuss the three different pricing values for used cars:

First one let’s discuss the wholesale value of your car: Typically, if you decide to sell your car to a car dealer, you will be offered a wholesale price. The wholesale price can be up to $10,000 below on a $30,000 car of its normal fair market value. If you sell your car to a car dealer, you can expect to receive instant cash, but the downside, is that you just sold your car for thousands less! If I can sell my car for more, why would I sell it for less? Well, to some people it may not make a difference to sell a car for $10,000 below its fair market value, but for many of us it does! Also, dealers constantly buy and sell cars from the “Dealer Only” auctions such as Manheim Auto Auctions. If you trade in your 1995 Ford Escort to a Mercedes dealership, the chances are that you car will be auctioned the next day, as your car is not suitable for a Mercedes Benz used car lot.

Second value is called “Private Party Retail” price: If I sell my car on my own, I will price my car around this value. This value represents an estimate for buyers and sellers for a given time. To sell your used car yourself, you will definitely need to do some research before selling it. If you price your car in between the wholesale value and the PPR value, the chances are that your car will be sold in couple of days. I recommend to price your car just couple of hundred dollard below the PPR value (Private party Retail) value. How to get a PPR value for your car? Just visit (Kelley Blue Book) www.kbb.com online and submit your vehicle’s information. You will get an instant quote for your car online.

Third value is called “Suggested Retail” price: This value represents the selling price of the vehicles at car dealerships. Suggested Retail price is always higher from the wholesale and private party retail prices. To sell your car at Suggested Retail price is almost impossible, unless you own a very rare vehicle like a 1994 Toyota Supra. Suggested Retail value serves as en estimate for car dealers to price their cars for sale. As you all know, the asking price at car dealerships is almost always negotiable. If they want to sell you a car at Suggested Retail value without any negotiations, then just leave that dealership, do not buy from them. Suggested Retail Value can be obtained online at www.kbb.com.

How can I improve the selling price of my car?

We strongly encourage to all of our customers to follow those three important steps, which will definitely improve the selling price of your car.

Step#1: Wash your car and detail it prior to taking the photos!

Step#2: Take at least 4 high quality photos. Now when you have cleaned up your car, it’s time to take some photos. Take a photo of the dashboard, so the mileage can be seen. Make sure, that the photos are not too dark. The brighter the photo the better. Sunny weather could help. Do not take the photos in the garage or in the body shop.

Step#3: In depth description. A detailed description of your car boosts the confidence level of potential buyers. We recommend to keep the receipts and the all the service records of your car. Do not overrate your car and do not underestimate it. Tell all the positive experiences you have had with the car such as “fast acceleration, highly reliable and etc...”

MrCarLister.com is a one stop solution to sell your car on eBay. Simply contact us and we will be happy to assist you with any questions you may have, We hope that the information on our site is helpful. If you have any suggestions about MrCarLister.com, please email us at info@mrcarlister.com.

LET US LIST AND SELL YOUR CAR ON EBAY NOW!!